IAction.java

/*
 * This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the 
 * terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License, version 2.1 as published by the Free Software 
 * Foundation.
 *
 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public License along with this 
 * program; if not, you can obtain a copy at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html 
 * or from the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 
 * 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
 *
 * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; 
 * without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
 * See the GNU Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 * Copyright 2009 Pentaho Corporation.  All rights reserved.
 *
 */
package org.pentaho.platform.api.action;

import org.pentaho.platform.api.engine.IComponent;

/**
 * Actions are the lightweight alternative to platform components (see {@link IComponent}).  Actions
 * participate in action sequences and can be provided inputs and resources by the typical means, as
 * defined in xaction solution files.  The {@link IAction} family of interfaces focuses on describing
 * the *minimal* contract between the Pentaho BI Platform and an Action in the same way that {@link IComponent}
 * describes a similar but more involved contract.
 * <p>
 * The Pentaho BI Platform expects Action objects to be Java bean API compliant with respect to setting
 * inputs, setting resources, and getting outputs.  In other words, if your action needs takes a string
 * input, the action definition in the xaction solution file will specify this string input, and the 
 * Action framework will cause that value to be set via a setter method on the Action object.  You do not 
 * see parameter Maps and such in the Action API for this reason.  All inputs, output, and resources IO
 * will involve Java bean reflection on your Action object to find the appropriate IO methods.
 * 
 * @see IStreamingAction
 * @see ILoggingAction
 * @see ISessionAwareAction
 * @author aphillips
 * @since 3.6
 *
 */
public interface IAction {
  
  /**
   * The method in your Action that does the work.
   * @throws Exception if there was an error executing the Action
   */
  public void execute() throws Exception;

}